As UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman prepares to make the third defense of his title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 181, the world wonders what ‘The Phenom’ will look like in the aftermath of the TRT ban. Appearing in a recent interview, the former light-heavy and heavyweight kingpin seems to have undergone a physical change of sorts.

Still claiming that he will win the belt, and comparing himself to the king of the jungle, Belfort’s confidence levels look to be at an all time high. Not one to let the obvious go unstated, ‘The All-American’ stepped in on instagram to point out the change in the Brazilian striker’s physique:

Accompanied with the tagline: ‘Hang on for a second is this what happens when you replace TRT with TNT?’, it looks like the champion is finally getting the hang of trash talking his opponents. Clearly looking much smaller than when he took the controversial treatment, do you think that TRT was the biggest tool in Belfort’s three knockout wins in 2013?

Starchings of Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold will likely remain questionable until the result of Weidman/Belfort at UFC 181. One thing is for sure though, ‘The All-American’ is one up in the trash talking battle.

MMA aficionado, I love all aspects of MMA-Training, watching, writing its just an amazing sport. I love to train in traditional styles such as Muay Thai, Judo, boxing and anything that gets the blood pumping! Follow me on twitter @rorylowkick

Wow no doubt Belfort is no longer his powerhouse TRT self. Weidman better not underestimate him though I think regardless of him looking WAY smaller he will still have knockout power. As long as Weidman makes it past the initial onslaught I think it will be an easy win for him.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/whitemare whitemare

Vitor do you even lift ???

http://lowkickmma.com/author/falcon4917 falcon4917

TRT does nothing? And somehow he is testing normal now? Hmm.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/teabagger teabagger

If he dropped his arms in this interview instead of holding them up, he would look even smaller LOL Got to love Weidman / nice PIC

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

SMH at this nonsense…. He looks about the SAME size! One pic he's clearly a little bloated from water retention. You can see it in his face and he's wearing a regular fit shirt. In the other photo he's wearing a FITTED shirt and looks nice and lean. Not to mention the different angle from the shot. If you WANT to see something and EXPECT to see something, optical illusion can be a bitch! When he hits that scale ripped as fuck in December and knocks Weidman the fuck out the next day, we'll continue this conversation.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/Hurricane2k Hurricane2k

Never going to happen .. Weidman wil beat Belfort nice and easy think a second round sub ! Weidman is a beast even Machida could not stop him , If you put Machida vs Belfort i see Machida winning that fight every time , Belfort wont be able to stop the grinding style from Weidman just plain and simpel he wil get taking down and when he gets down thats the end of the round for Belfort , On the picture if you think he still looks the same and he wil be "Ripped" like before you in for a big suprise cuz he wil NOT be the same and he wil be a shadow of his former self just wait and see !

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

@Hurrican2k

Yeah keep thinking that… Weidman is going to sleep and it's gonna be quick, just watch.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/jcren jcren

Vitor called he wants his nuts back

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

Well how about you take them out of your mouth and return them like a good loyal bitch homie.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/jcren jcren

WOW…I am more shocked that most people hit Sharp on this. There is NO denying that he is smaller. If anything he is still some time out from the fight he should look bigger.

Are there that many Brazillians on this site that are Vitor fanboys.

Dude looks small and he will not be training as hard…because he can't. I think Weidman will test his cardio and his will. I think Vitor has 2 more fights in the Octagon. After the Weidman beat down he will go out on a high note by beating Wandy and call it a night.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

That's cause most people are not delusional an don't look at the photo's through bias eyes, like you and a bunch of others. I have a bunch of clients i train that went either on of off TRT and NONE of them changed physically.

You have to change your diet, sleep more and train more efficient, but in no way, shape or form does it mean you will loose muscle mass, power or explosiveness by default. It's straight up nonsense. TRT is very much overrated in that sense. It's no Popeye Spinach dude… the effects of it are not as significant as you think.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/D D

The only delusional person here is you X. Vitor looks 10 pound lighter in his neck and traps alone in the second picture.

If the TRT wasn't doing it, then he was on something else that the Brazilian commission doesn't test for. There is a dramatic change in his physique. I wonder how you will try to spin it when he weighs in and you can no longer use his shirt as an excuse.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/jcren jcren

Bias….it is laughable.

yes…you may have clients who were on and off TRT…but were they using it or abusing it the way Vitor has ADMITTED to doing?

TRT is testosterone. It is the defining male hormone. The increased amount in males is why we are bigger and stronger.

TRT will allow you to train harder and recover. It also gives you more energy. If you do not think it makes a difference then tell your "clients" to stop using it.

If it doesn't make a difference then why was Vitor using it all?
Why did the Reem have elevated levels and shockingly now that they are normal he looks smaller too….or maybe that is my bias eye. Why were guys like Griffin, Sonnen, Mir, Rampage, Duffy and Hendo all using it. What are the odds that so many prominent fighters would have low T. Do you think that they went through all of that because it is "overrated".

Serious question…are you Brazillian or just a huge Vitor "fan"

http://lowkickmma.com/author/mindkontrolle mindkontrolle

jcren delivering OWNAGE…. hahaha

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

Im not brazillian and i'm not necessarily a "huge" Vitor fan. I'm a fan of the sport and i do like Vitor's style, but this is not about being a fan. This is about how their styles match up and Vitor's style is a nightmare matchup for Weidman.

and i never said TRT makes no difference. The main issue with low TRT levels is slow recovery after training and fatigue. For that reason they have to change their lifestyle and training. Sleep more, strict diet and a "Less is More" training regimen. They can't train as much because they recover slower, but that doesn't mean they can't perform as good as ever on fight night. They just need to change things up big time. When your Test levels are low, your Doc. will automatically recommend TRT, to secure a better quality of life. No doubt Vitor's Doc. recommended TRT at the time and it was LEGAL to do so, so he did. But i guess people just love to talk shit and create controversy, where there is none. You guys should go work for TMZ… cause you're good in sensationalizing shit! Lol…

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

All bullshit aside…. this is gonna be a senseless endless discussion. So we will find out in December what's up and continue this conversation 😉

http://lowkickmma.com/author/TheXperience TheXperience

By the way… Vitor never admitted to "ABUSING" TRT, i don't know what the hell you're talking about.

His higher Test level was cause he got a higher dose the day before he got tested because he was gonna travel to Vegas and not be around for his shot later that week. That is not "abuse", that's how it's always in a situation like that but because there's a LACK of education on the treatment, Vitor got the backlash.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/movescamp movescamp

He did admit to abusing trt. He said he was injecting a week worth at a time. Everything you said only applies to body shape. As far as playing a sport or fighting trt makes a huge difference. Huge. You can be as efficient and diet conciliatory as you want it's not the same as having high levels of testosterone compare to low levels. Vitor will not be the same fighter. He won't be as explosive ( which is the hardest form of training/recovery).

I took trt briefly instead of labrum/bicep tendon surgery for a judo injury. It was a whole new world of training. My shoulder got better so much faster than if I had not taken it I was able to compete in judo and sambo again in the same year. Once I stopped my whole body changed for a few months. I never returned to that level despite a strict diet and conditioning…weight cutting recovery was also much worse.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/HunterB HunterB

Going to be a good fight.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/mofocool mofocool

Those pictures just show me how smart Belfort is..and how much stupid people are on this chat including Weidman.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/jmedno5891 jmedno5891

Please enlighten me, I'm to stupid to understand what you are trying to imply.

http://lowkickmma.com/author/mofocool mofocool

Look at details..his T-short is choiced to look smaller (biger "Sky",look at his neck..etc).Vitor wants to be subestimated.If it is the case it will be a very short night for Weidman.We all know how explosive he is.

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